In tonight’s meeting we debriefed on the GlobeMed Goes Red effect at Two Brothers Tavern on Friday night. We surpassed our fundraising goal, making a total of $1582. Thank you to all who contributed to the success of the event and congrats to all of the raffle winners!
To update on GHI, we have signed our MOU, which states that the money we raise this year will go towards the maintenance of GHI’s program in one of the existing health centers. Also, GHI held their annual thanksgiving dinner in Rwanda this past week and celebrated with approximately 1400 people!
In GlobalhealthU tonight we embarked upon track 2: Health and Human Rights. In particular, we discussed the topic “health is a human right” and looked specifically at the mission of Partners in Health (PIH). PIH was established in 1987 with the goal of providing highest quality of care regardless of financial position. Paul Farmer developed the notion of a “preferential option for the poor” which is rooted in the view that health is a human right. Click here to watch the “I believe” video in which Paul Farmer elaborates on this notion. In our small group discussions, we addressed the question:
If health is a human right, is it ethical to have a greater concern for the health of the poor than the not poor? Does this go against the very concept of equity? Think of examples and policies for each to further explore the different views on health.
Groups discussed the ways in which a preferential option for the poor levels the playing field in terms of access to health care services and considered ways in which resources must be distributed in order to achieve this type of equity. In addition, we noted that PIH has been able to replicate its model on a large scale, implementing its programs in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, Rwanda, Lesotho, Malawi, Russia and Kazakhstan. We contemplated the plausibility of this model for organizations that function on a smaller scale than PIH, such as our own.
Looking ahead to upcoming events, we discussed plans for World Aids Day and our annual Holiday Giving Campaign. Stay tuned!